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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | July 7, 2015 05:10 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Ed Gainey |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Keep Kids in School Act |
| In the near future, I am planning to introduce legislation to address the problem of suspensions and expulsions for students in public early childhood education, elementary and secondary school. This is a state-level version of legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Casey (S.672 of 2015 - 114th U.S. Congress). In order for this Commonwealth to successfully prepare students to graduate high school ready for college or careers, it is necessary to keep such students in school. Suspensions are known to disproportionately affect students of color and students with disabilities, leaving them further behind their peers. Indeed, research has shown that higher suspension rates closely correlate to high dropout and delinquency rates, and that schools with high rates of suspension can even negatively impact the achievement of students who do not misbehave. Suspensions and expulsions have tremendous costs not only for students but for society as a whole. My legislation will call upon the Department of Education (PDE) to work with other Commonwealth agencies, school entities (school districts, vo-techs or secondary schools), organizations representing teachers, administrators, other school personnel, parents and community-based programs to reduce suspensions and expulsions in early childhood education programs of school entities and in elementary and secondary schools. This would be done by focusing on school entities with a high rate of suspensions and expulsions and with a disparity between rates of suspension/expulsion for students who belong to certain categories – examining the number of police arrests and referrals to law enforcement of students, disaggregated by grade, race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency status, and status as economically disadvantaged – and comparing this data to all students at the school. My bill would also expand professional development provided to principals, administrators, teachers, and other staff that regularly interact with students, to educate such individuals about evidence-based approaches to reduce suspensions and expulsions. PDE would also develop a plan to ensure that each student who is suspended will receive ongoing educational services that allow the student to successfully participate in the student’s previous educational program upon the student’s return to school following a suspension. In addition, each school entity would be required to develop and implement a plan to reduce suspensions and expulsions in its early childhood education program and elementary and secondary school, as applicable, in order to comply with PDE’s plan. Each school entity would also be responsible for reporting the details of the plan that it prepares, as well as reporting information to PDE relative to the number of suspensions and expulsions that occur, the duration of such incidents and additional related data. Please consider co-sponsoring this legislation. |